Decuman (; ; died ) was one of the Celtic

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

s who came to

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

from

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

, in the seventh century, arriving on a

raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barre ...

(or his cloak) with a cow for a companion. There he was a pastor and

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

to the local inhabitants.

Life and cult

Decuman is said to have been born of noble parents at Rhoscrowther in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, where the church is dedicated to him. His name comes from the Latin for a farmer of tithes, which is a

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

who paid a rent for his farm. Decuman had a chapel at nearby Pwllcrochan. Wishing to escape from worldly companions he crossed the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...

and landed at Dunster: he then became a hermit at nearby Watchet, living from the produce of his cow. There he healed the sick and acted as a pastor to the inhabitants. There Decuman is said to have been killed by a pagan. Legend tells that the holy man's head was cut off by "a certain man more venomous than an asp, more poisonous than the adder...." Beheading is a legend which is found associated with several Celtic saints, but in this variant, the saint miraculously picks up his head, washes it, and replaces it. After this the local people assisted Decuman to build the church (''Legends and Folklore of Watchet'' — Ben Norman). Decuman's Holy Well is located down the lane from the church at Watchet, in Somerset. Decuman is said to have died in 706, when Somerset west of the Parrett, including Watchet, was still under Celtic rule. His feast day was celebrated at

on 27 February. The saint is associated with several other places in south Wales and also with Degibna, on Loe Pool, near Helston in Cornwall, where there was a chapel dedicated to him.

Veneration

Ancient parish

St Decuman was a parish in the hundred of Williton and Freemanners. This parish included Watchet,

Williton Williton is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, at the junction of the A39 road, A39, A358 and B3191 roads, on the coast south of Watchet between Minehead, Bridgwater and Taunton. Williton station i ...

and many hamlets. It was divided into the civil parishes of Watchet and Williton in 1902.

Wexford

Decuman was under the names of St Degumen or St Tenen also venerated in

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

with three churches in the townlands Ballyconnick, Killag, and Killiane Little dedicated to him. All of them are now in ruins.See entries 1184, 1254, and 1258 in

References

External links

WatchetThe Tale of St. Decuman – Storytelling by LambertThe Mystery of St. Decuman – Storytelling by Lambert
{{authority control People from Pembrokeshire People from Watchet Medieval Welsh saints 706 deaths Year of birth unknown